By PARKER CARLSON
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
Should Indiana townships be dissolved and give control of municipal services, such as the fire department and EMS, to the county? A proposed bill would dissolve all fire protection districts and fire protection territories.
House Bill 1233, authored by Rep. Karen Engleman, R-Corydon, would require local government reorganization by Jan. 1, 2027. All counties, except for Marion County, will have their townships dissolved and their responsibilities absorbed by the county. The bill leaves room for the potential to dissolve towns, with a population less than 1,000, if its operating costs are too high.
Each county’s board of commissioners would “assume the powers and duties of township trustees with regard to fire protection and emergency services” after all fire protection districts and territories are dissolved. The county would be responsible for providing fire protection and emergency services to unincorporated areas of the county, whether through contracting, volunteer firefighting departments, or agreements with other municipalities.
According to the bill, each county board of commissioners would have to develop a plan to consider what areas are over and under served in the county, with “at least two” public meetings to discuss the plan. After the start of 2027, the county trustee can adopt amendments to that plan.
Every four years, all towns with a population less than 1,000 must submit a report costs to the county comparing services provided to citizens and the town’s operating. The bill says a county could then dissolve the town if “the town’s operating costs exceed the expenditures for delivery of services to residents.”
Any debt a township and a dissolved town has will be taken on by the county; however, the bill creates a plan to levy taxes only on people who reside in the geographic area of the former town.
Public libraries would not immediately be affected a township being dissolved, the bill says. But, the county’s legislative body could choose to withdraw from any responsibilities to libraries that the township had.
If the bill were to become law, a temporary township advisory group would be created to assist the county trustee; by Jan. 1, 2027, that township’s advisory group would be disbanded.
House Bill 1233 has currently been referred to the Committee on Local Government for a first reading.
This story was originally published by WISH-TV at wishtv.com/news/politics/bill-to-dissolve-indiana-townships-fire-territories.